Google Maps and Wave founder leaves for Facebook

Lars Rasmussen, the founder of Google Wave and the company that became Google
Maps, is leaving the search giant to join "once in a decade company" Facebook

Lars Rasmussen, the founder of Google Wave, has left not long after Google confirmed that it will no longer be developing Google Wave following disappointing take-up among usersPhoto: GOOGLE

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor

12:34PM GMT 01 Nov 2010

Lars Rasmussen – the man behind Google Wave and Google Maps – has quit his job working for Google in Australia to join Facebook. Kate Vale, the head of YouTube in Australia has also left the company and hinted to the Sydney Morning Herald that she too could join the burgeoning social network.

"It feels to me that Facebook may be a sort of once-in-a-decade type of company," Rasmussen told the paper. He said that he decided to end his six-year tenure at Google after a "compelling personal pitch" from Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Google, however, cancelled Wave earlier this year after the short-lived project to develop a new kind of communication tool failed to find mainstream popularity. Combining instant messaging, email and pictures, Wave struggled to engage audiences beyond a small, loyal fanbase.

Rasmussen is currently based in Sydney, but will start work in San Francisco next month. “I've got a job description of 'come hang out with us for a while and we'll see what happens', which is a pretty exciting thing," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Alan Noble, Google Australia's engineering director, said: "Lars made great contributions to Google in innovative products like Google Maps and Google Wave. He was also instrumental in starting engineering in the Google Sydney office. We wish him all the best."

Rasmussen also criticised Google for becoming “unwieldy” as it has grown in size. Vale also told the Sydney Morning Herald that Google had become more corporate than when she became its first employee based in Australia.